New Meds

mumofboys3

hi. i was wondering if someone could just give any details regarding new meds ive been put on. ive had rheumatoid and fibromyalgia for 10 years and have been managing on methotrexate for the last 8. unfortunately, due to a family bereavement (i lost my mum to cancer) i became a bit lapse taking my meds and now im going through the worst pain ive ever experienced. i was doing ok on mtx, i was living a relatively normal life as a mum and was even thinking of going back to work. now I cant do a thing for myself. the pain is immense and i spend my days crying with the pain. the cramps and muscle spasms from my fibro are crippling. thankfully my husband is amazing and my sons are just the best helping out.

My consultant has increased my mtx dose for now while my flare is so severe and started me on hydroxychloroquine and pregabalin for my fibro. ive taken my first dose this morning. having read the leaflet, does it really take around 12 weeks to notice any changes with the hydroxychloroquine and how good is the pregabalin, will it ease the muscle pain im having? im not expecting miracles but hoping to notice some easement soon. anyone on these two meds?

i would really appreciate any information. thank you.

[Deleted User]

Hi mumofboys3,
Welcome to the forum.

I'm sorry to hear that you are in such a lot of pain. I don't have personal experience of taking either of those two drugs, but there are many on here who have and hopefully will be able to offer their personal experiences - although bear in mind of course that everyone is different in their responses to meds and how long they take to have an effect.

I know that hydroxychloroquine is one of those that does usually take some time to show any effect, I think 12 weeks+ is the usual timespan quoted - which is hard if you are suffering a lot right now, but hopefully if you've started it you will now be on the path to some relief.

I'm including a link to the section on hydroxychloroquine on the Versus Arthritis website, in case there's anything you haven't already read:
https://www.versusarthritis.org/about-arthritis/treatments/drugs/hydroxychloroquine/

The forum is a really supportive community and hopefully you will find others with similar experiences to share on here. Do let us know how you are finding the two drugs as time goes by.
Good luck and best wishes,

Ann

stickywicket

Hello from me too

There are no hard and fast rules about when a DMARD will work. We're always told they can take up to 3 months but they don't always.

I, too, take meth and hydroxy. Hydroxy is a relatively mild DMARD but it works well in conjuncction with meth. As you have had to discover, it's never a good idea to lay off DMARDS. If we've been on them for some time it takes a while before our bodies start to protest but then protest they do. What dose were you on previously? And what now? Many years ago I had to go through my entire second pregnancy on just soluble aspirin and, believe me, I couldn't wait for the birth

I've never done pregabalin so I can't help there but it's a fact that stress makes everything worse. You've had a rough time but maybe you'd benefit from some relaxation techniques. This might help https://www.versusarthritis.org/about-arthritis/managing-symptoms/managing-your-pain/ especially if you scroll down the left menu for psychological therapies.

mumofboys3

Thank you. I'm only on a low dose, 10mg I've just been told to up it by one tablet to 12.5 along with the hydroxychloroquine and pregabalin for my fibro. The hydroxychloroquine tastes vile with water, can't get it down quick enough.

I definitely have learnt not to get lapse with my meds in future but with losing my mum and we had relationship issues, my health suffered.

Thank you, I'll just see how they go now c

stickywicket

Of course your health suffered. Stress makes everything worse and is definitely bad for arthritis.

12.5mgs is still a very 'middling' dose of meth so there's plenty of room to increase it if your consultant deems it necessary.

To be honest I'd never noticed the taste of hydroxy. I just swill 'em all down asap. Having once tried for weeks to take a desert spoonful of neat cod liver oil before breakfast :shock: I guess I'm immune to such things. By the way, don't go there. It did nothing for the RA and even less for my stomach